ABSTRACT

This book offers a unique perspective on crafting your screenplay from an editor’s point-of-view. Special features include before and after examples from preproduction scripts to post production final cuts, giving screenwriters an opportunity to understand how their screenplay is visualized in post production.

By the time a script reaches the editing room, it has passed through many hands and undergone many changes. The producer, production designer, director, cinematographer, and actor have all influenced the process before it gets to the editor’s hands. Few scripts can withstand the careful scrutiny of the editing room. This book reveals how to develop a script that will retain its original vision and intent under the harsh light of the editing console. It provides insights that writers (as well as producers and directors) need and editors can provide for a safe journey from the printed page to the final release.

This book is ideal for aspiring and early career screenwriters, as well as filmmakers and established screenwriters who want to gain a better understanding of the editing process.

chapter |2 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|10 pages

The Final Rewrite

chapter 2|15 pages

Best Intentions and Excellent Fails

chapter 3|8 pages

The Well of Coverage

chapter 4|10 pages

The Scene and an Approach to Dailies

chapter 5|14 pages

Another approach

chapter 6|10 pages

What Writers Know

chapter 7|11 pages

What Editors Know

chapter 8|12 pages

Tricks of the Editor's Trade

chapter 9|11 pages

The Essence of Time

chapter 10|7 pages

The Filmic Moment

chapter 11|13 pages

Aspects of Dialogue

chapter 12|13 pages

Dialogue and Character Issues

chapter 13|7 pages

When “Cut to” Isn't Enough

chapter 14|10 pages

Following the Line

chapter 15|13 pages

Formula but Not Formulaic

chapter 16|13 pages

The End Is the Beginning

chapter 17|6 pages

Hindsight Is 20/20